bring joy

Pumpkin Pasta + Roasted Cauliflower & Red Pepper + a revelation (sort of)

Have you ever woken up one day & been surprised at what you’ve turned into?

That happened to me this morning. I realized that sometime between this week & last, I became a soccer mom.

A bona fide, mini-van driving, messy-bun wearing, chauffeuring soccer mom.

Not quite a revelation–it was sort of inevitable considering my brood, but

kids come home from school, we sort through papers & I supervise (nag? nah…) chores & putting school stuff where it belongs
snacks–everyone gets what they want–Asher gets frozen bluberries but spills a bunch on the floor, need I mention I’m not thrilled, since they cost about a little less than gold per pound?
more tidying, kids playing

start prepping ingredients for dinner
help Amalia get dance clothes & shoes
get the kids in the car, take...

{MM} 9.23.2013

marvelous mondays

A funny pinterest find from this past week:

Image from A. “Circa 1951.

My favorite part is the caption under the photo:
“Swimsuit model in Cadillac convertible filled with oranges. We don’t know the where, the who or the why.”
Yes indeed, I’d love to know the why.
(But I do love that swimsuit–classy & feminine.)

♥ 32 healthy pre-packaged, 5 ingredients (or less) snacks–perfect for school lunches.

♥ This super cute video about making fruit & veggie kebabs w/ kids from Design Mom‘s Oliveus TV.

♥ Frugal family fall fun (say that 3 times fast)–
also, check out my autumn board for more autumn-esque ideas

♥ How to make your family stronger: tell stories.

♥ Did you know it’s weight stigma awareness week? In honor of it, think of 5 amazing (not weight related) things...

Memories & Growing Older

family, the good life, parenting

I’ve always been surrounded by old people.

I’m the 6th of 7 children & my mom is 7th of 8 children, so my grandparents were always, well, old.

My siblings (except for my little brother Nate) are all older than me, & started having families when I was young.

(I became an an aunt before I turned 8.)

Many of my aunts & uncles were like second grandparents. Most of my cousins are much older than me.

And, my mother has an affinity for helping people, especially the aged, so I have many memories visiting her elderly friends, helping to clean their houses, yards, & what not.

I talked with my Mom yesterday (she’s in Mexico with my dad, serving an LDS mission) & she talked about some of the struggles that she & my dad are going through because of my dad’s Parkinson’s disease.

He was...